1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for fermentation or reaction wherein microorganism cells or catalyst particles suspended in liquid are brought into contact with a gas phase.
The invention further relates to a process for continuously or batchwise producing ethanol by fermentation using disaccharide, monosaccharide, or the mixture thereof as a starting material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the inventors of the present invention previously proposed a reactor of the same general type in which two cones are coupled at their bases. As described in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 92774/77 and 76564/79, the reactor is useful not only for immobilization of enzymes and oxidation with immobilized enzymes but also for anaerobic fermentation.
In later research on the large-scale and continuous conversion of sugar to alcohol, considered to be a potential energy substitute, the present inventors have found that a multi-stage bioreactor composed of vertically connected unit reactors each having two cones coupled at their bases is a very effective continuous fermentor.